The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 165.07 points, or 0.82 percent, from Monday to close the day at 20,204.04.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 5.90 points, or 0.39 percent, to finish at 1,518.43. (Tokyo-Stocks-Nikkei)

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ULAN BATOR -- Two drivers were killed and 31 passengers injured in a bus accident early Tuesday in southeastern Mongolia, local media reported, citing the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The bus was carrying 45 passengers from the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator to Zamiin-Uud soum in the southeastern province of Dornogovi, NEMA said in a statement. (Mongolia-Bus Accident)

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DAMASCUS -- At least 55 fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were either killed or wounded in a counterattack unleashed by the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported on Tuesday.

The IS militants launched their counter-offensive on the town of Shoufeh, which they had lost to the SDF over the past 24 hours, in the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in eastern Deir al-Zour province. (Syria-SDF-IS)